What is a Parenthetical Citation?
A parenthetical citation is a citation placed in brackets, usually at the end of the sentence, that identifies the source of what you have just said. It is one of the two forms of in-text citation; the other is a narrative citation, where the author's name is part of the sentence.
- Parenthetical: Sleep loss impairs memory (Hartley, 2019).
- Narrative: Hartley (2019) found that sleep loss impairs memory.
Examples by Style
- APA: (Smith, 2020), or (Smith, 2020, p. 45) for a quotation.
- MLA: (Smith 45), author and page, no comma.
- Chicago author-date: (Smith 2020, 45).
- Harvard: (Smith, 2020, p. 45) in the common Cite Them Right version, though some universities drop the comma.
How Many Authors?
- Two authors: APA (Patel & Moreno, 2021); MLA (Patel and Moreno 12).
- Three or more authors: APA (Nguyen et al., 2020); MLA (Nguyen et al. 30).
- Group author: (World Health Organization, 2023).
- No author: use a short form of the title, such as ("Climate Report," 2022) in APA.
- Several sources at once: separate them with semicolons, in alphabetical order in APA: (Nguyen et al., 2020; Patel & Moreno, 2021).
Where the Citation Goes
Put it before the full stop at the end of the sentence: "...impairs memory (Hartley, 2019)." With a quotation, close the quotation marks first: "...is a lifelong process" (Smith 45). For a block quotation, the citation goes after the final full stop.
Parenthetical or Narrative?
Use parenthetical citations when the evidence matters more than who found it, and narrative citations when the author is part of your point, for example when comparing two researchers' views. Most good academic writing mixes both.
Best Practices
- Make sure every citation matches an entry in your reference list, with the same spelling and year.
- Cite each time you use the source, not once per paragraph.
- Follow one style throughout.
Full guide: APA In-Text Citation (7th Edition): Rules + Examples